649 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(09/18/14 6:00pm)
Jordan-Hare has always been a special place.
During football season, it's the heart of the raw energy that is the Auburn spirit. Even after the season ends, students look to the stadium as an integral part of Auburn's campus and history.
Much like the football team, the stadium has seen its share of ups and downs. However, it has remained a beacon for the Auburn Family since 1939.
For the past few years, the amenities at Jordan-Hare have been sorely lacking. Overpriced food, water and cramped seating have made it seem more like a NFL stadium than a college one.
Perhaps this was due to the collapsing national economy; perhaps the athletic department was hurting for money.
We can't say. However, we are pleased to see the athletic department making changes for the better.
Now, water is $2, half the price it used to be, and hotdogs are $1 cheaper. More free water stations have also been installed, saving fans even more money. The student section has also been expanded.
These improvements may seem small, but we think they are a step in the right direction.
All too often, sports venues are centers for greed and price gouging.
They function under the mentality of milking fans for every last dollar.
Anyone who's been to a professional football, basketball or baseball game in the last 10 years can attest to this.
Because sports, whether professional or college, are a big industry, venues are allowed to get away with this graft. Fans either pay up or watch the game on TV.
It's great to see Auburn beginning to buck this trend.
After all, without the fans, the Tigers would just be a bunch of guys running around on a field.
The recent improvements are the athletic department's show of loyalty, a recognition of the people who keep them employed.
Hopefully, this is just the beginning.
In the future, we would love to see cheaper student tickets and a better system for selling them.
Anything the athletic department can do to make the game day experience more affordable, and therefore more enjoyable, is something we will support.
As loyal fans, we greatly appreciate these gestures of gratitude.
We look forward to what the next few years have in store for Jordan-Hare.
(09/12/14 7:30pm)
In 2009, a photo of Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps smoking a bong caused him to lose a sponsorship from Kellogg's. He was also suspended from USA Swimming for three months.
The year before, he won eight gold medals.
When the photo was released, he was crucified by the media.
All his achievements were completely ignored, and his name was dragged through the mud by every self-righteous pundit in the country.
This past July, Nick Marshall faced a similar scandal.
Marshall was cited for possession of marijuana.
He was fined $1,000, which his mother paid, and was not allowed to start in the season opener against Arkansas.
Much like Phelps, Marshall became the focus of undeserved media outrage.
He was called everything from a drug addict to a thug. His stellar performance as quarterback during the 2013 season was pushed to the side.
There is a problem with these stories, but it has nothing to do with these men getting high.
The problem is how we, as fans and as a society, react whenever people we look up to, such as Phelps and Marshall, get caught smoking marijuana.
While the public opinion of marijuana may be shifting, the old fears and stigmas hold firm when it comes to athletes, especially college football players.
They aren't allowed to make mistakes. We expect them to follow an ill-defined yet strict moral code. Perhaps worst of all, we think we have a say in how they live their lives.
So when one of them does make a mistake, we get offended and think it's our job to chastise and correct them.
It's time to stop punishing college athletes for doing the same thing other college kids, and millions of other people, do every day.
It's time to stop expecting them to be punished by the University as well as the criminal justice system.
Not letting Marshall start was ridiculous.
It served no purpose other than to placate those who chose to be offended by his actions.
Marshall was not on steroids; he didn't commit armed robbery or beat his wife, but many still expected him to punished as if he had done these things.
If Marshall, or any other athlete chooses to smoke, it's none of our business.
If they get caught, their punishment should be the responsibility of the criminal justice system; that's it.
While the state and federal laws making marijuana illegal may not change anytime soon, the way we look at people who do smoke certainly can change.
(09/08/14 6:00pm)
On Monday, Aug. 26, Michael Brown was laid to rest. Since then, Ferguson, Missouri has been quiet.
Although media attention has started to shift from the troubled town, the wounds caused by Brown's death and the subsequent riots are still fresh. As a nation, we haven't even begun to process what happened.
Because Officer Darren Wilson, the police officer who allegedly shot Brown, will not face a grand jury until October, there will be no sign of closure for Brown's family, Ferguson or the rest of America for quite some time.
But it's never too soon to start talking about all the issues this tragedy has forced to the surface.
The events in Ferguson have busted the national conversation on race wide open. The relationship between police and minorities has come under extreme scrutiny. We are at tipping a point, on the crest of a wave about to break into what could be peace or catastrophe.
Brown's death is only one of the more recent examples of a law enforcement officer killing an unarmed suspect. Unfortunately, this trend of brutality has been mostly focused on the black community.
While anyone can be the victim of excessive force, it would be a great disservice to the memory of Brown and those who died before him to not acknowledge the role race plays in this ongoing dilemma.
Of course, this is a problem with roots stretching back to the birth of our country, and to use our limited space to suggest a quick fix is foolhardy at best. We could call for peace and understanding, but our calls would not rise above the din of anger and confusion.
Although we do not condone riots or violence against anyone, we believe this anger is justified. For too long, people of all races have been victimized by an increasingly aggressive police force.
We don't feel like the police are a part of the community anymore. They have become a fringe element that we fear and do not trust.
For many, the police represent a failed ideal, a damaged part of the American dream.
However, this doesn't mean we have to give up.
After all, the police are not space aliens we can't communicate with.
They are humans.
We have to hold them accountable for their actions. We have to use our power as citizens to break through the walls of secrecy and corruption. We have to demand better.
By knowing our rights and standing up for them, we can stem the tide of violence that has become synonymous with law enforcement.
Although it's hard to think about that now, there are lessons to be learned from Ferguson. Like the L.A. riots in 1992 and the Watts riots in 1965, this horror has a purpose.
The mistakes that led to Ferguson belong to all Americans, and we have to learn from them if we expect anything to change.
(08/29/14 1:30pm)
Lately, the University seems like it's in a constant state of change.
The new Wellness Kitchen and the Foy renovations are only the most recent examples of the many improvements made during the past several years.
Generally, these improvements do just that -- improve the quality of campus life. A few of the improvements, however, have shown a complete lack of understanding of student life and what we actually need from the University.
Consider the recent changes in service for the Auburn Security Shuttle.
Until this semester, the Security Shuttle was the safest way to travel on campus and to downtown. Anyone who needed a safe ride on campus could count on the shuttle to get them home.
Unfortunately, the service's reputation as the "drunk bus" had come to overshadow its true purpose. While possibly abused, the service itself was not flawed.
Ask any of the women who didn't have to walk alone from downtown to the Village or the Hill at midnight, and they will tell you the shuttle service was fine as it was.
However, the SGA thought they could make the Security Shuttle better, but they did exactly the opposite.
According to Colonel Randal Cervosky, associate director of Public Safety and Security Services for the Auburn University department of public safety, the SGA contacted the department and suggested improvements to the Security Shuttle in order to make it more efficient.
Now, people have to wait for a shuttle that has a route close to where they want to be dropped off.
This wait can take a long time, depending on how many shuttles are running on a given route.
Although these changes are only a few weeks old, it's obvious they were poorly planned.
Whether a student is waiting for a shuttle to get home from the library or downtown, they should not have to worry about how long the wait will be and if they can catch a shuttle that will take them where they need to go.
These changes are a sign of the SGA's ineptitude and show how detached they are from the realities of Auburn student life.
Perhaps they don't realize the University has an obligation to keep us safe.
So it's now up to us to remind them.
Call the department of public safety and complain; let them know how bad the new Security Shuttle is.
Call SGA and let them know we can do without their ideas on improving campus life.
SGA is supposed to represent students.
It's supposed to act on our behalf, but anytime it implements changes like it has done with the Security Shuttle, it shows a complete disregard for our needs.
If the current SGA has similar improvements planned for the future, then the next elections can't happen quick enough.
(08/23/14 6:00pm)
Finding a decent place to live shouldn't be part of what makes college difficult. Paying tuition, maintaining a good GPA, avoiding alcohol poisoning -- these should be high on your list of college-related concerns. Worrying whether or not you'll have to spend part of the semester in a hotel should be low on that list.
Unfortunately, renting in Auburn is a gamble. Anyone who isn't wealthy or hasn't needed to diligently shop around for reasonable housing can tell you how much of a nightmare it can be.
Take 319 Bragg for example.
319 Bragg's management led renters to believe they would be able to move in by the beginning of the fall semester. However, renters are now stuck in hotels, waiting for a move-in date that has yet to be announced.
The management is attempting to appease renters by paying for hotel accommodations, and allowing the renters to still use the complex's hyped amenities. While this is a nice gesture, it does nothing to alleviate the burden now faced by renters who have to start the year in such a dismal situation.
This is an inexcusable error, but it is typical of student housing in Auburn.
On campus, the Village dorms have been in various states of disrepair since they were built in 2009. The dorms on the Hill are ancient -- last renovated 25 years ago. Both of these locations cost entirely too much considering what you get when you move in.
Off campus, there are shady landlords, dishonest property managers and greedy real estate agents to contend with, and they will do and say anything to take your money.
They run cheap, unsound buildings and charge overpriced rent. For these people, Auburn students are cash cows.
So be wary of any apartment that seems too good to be true, because it is. That Jacuzzi and sauna may sound like great selling points, but those will be the last thing on your mind when your toilet is broken and the maintenance guy can't fix it until next week.
Instead, we advise practicality.
There is no need to spend $700 or more every month just to have access to a few luxury items. If you inform yourself and act with some common sense, then you can avoid the housing nightmare many Auburn students have to deal with at least once in their time here.
As for the renters of 319 Bragg, this would be a great opportunity for them to demand their deposit back, and maybe get a few months free rent while they're at it.
(07/23/14 8:24pm)
Clothing choice is a statement.
What you wear speaks volumes about who you are as a person.
It depicts what you like, dislike and how you show yourself to the public.
College is the time when young adults are deciding who they are.
The days of high school and inescapable conformity are gone.
Students realize they can make whatever statement about themselves they want in college.
Auburn is home to more than 25,000 students. Walking along the concourse at any time of the day, people will inevitably be seen wearing different types of clothing and exuding a range of styles and attitudes.
A student is allowed to wear anything they want at most places around Auburn.
Male or female students are not discriminated against. As long as they are clothed and not wearing offensive materials, entry is allowed.
Any typical Friday or Saturday night, a massive amount of Auburn students flock to the bars downtown. They are wearing their favorite "going out" clothes and are ready for a good time.
Walking downtown is similar to walking along the concourse -- the variety of clothing and styles are abundant.
But, if you are a college male, you might not be allowed inside certain bars in downtown Auburn.
Bars such as Quixotes, Skybar and 17-16 enforce strict dress codes for male patrons. There are no specific regulations enforced for women.
Quixotes and 17-16 are owned by the same person and enforce a dress code forbidding sideways hats, baggy or saggy pants, tank tops, gym shorts, shorts below the knee, plain-white T-shirts and V-necks.
No man wearing these clothes will be allowed access into these bars.
At Skybar, a small, yellow sign states no sunglass after dark can be worn, no pants hanging below the waistline, no tank tops or sleeveless shirts and no plain-white T-shirts can be worn.
These rules are specifically for men, and no rules for women are listed.
The reasons for the dress code enforcement are many and varied.
Amid the bar-tar and sloshing drinks, some bars aim to keep a sense of formality and don't want men walking around in baggy pants and tank tops in their establishments. Others feel uncomfortable around plain-white T-shirts and the stigma around them.
Regardless, it comes to question that if a woman is wearing a plain white T-shirt and shorts below the knee, will she be asked to leave?
It's hard to overlook how women are allowed to wear whatever they want to the bars and men are not.
In the bars at Auburn, it is common to see a woman wearing a questionable outfit or shorts that leave little to the imagination, yet they are not asked to leave.
It only applies to men and certain styles.
The Bank Vault does not enforce a dress code.
"We don't have a dress code here," said Ben Barley, manager of The Bank Vault. "Anything that's common sense, like you have to have shoes and you can't be half naked, applies. We're not trying to exclude anybody."
Moe's Original Bar B Que closes down its kitchen at 9 p.m. and becomes a bar.
The dress code for Moe's is "casual," and most patrons walking around the bar are wearing T-shirts.
Bars enforcing a dress code for men and not for women need to reevaluate their standards.
Sometimes, a woman wearing a revealing outfit can be more uncomfortable than a man in sagging shorts.
If bars are going to enforce a dress code, it needs to apply to both sexes.
If men are not allowed to wear shorts below the knee, then don't allow women to wear shorts the size of bikini bottoms.
Women strive for equality in all aspects of life, why shouldn't it be the same for bar dress codes?
(07/11/14 4:00pm)
Everyone endures periods of emotional distress.
Grief isn't the kind of thing that goes away after a fun weekend out with friends.
Everyone will, at some point, feel heartbroken or lethargic.
Most people will pull through these feelings and readjust to life, but there are some people who do not.
Depression is an illness as real and treatable as the flu or a stomach virus.
The symptoms of depression are apathy, lethargy and general discomfort.
Grief includes bargaining, anger and a lasting pain.
Depression and grief are life-altering states of being.
They can make you feel alienated and, in our society, ashamed.
In many non-Western cultures, grief is expected from the bereaved for months or years at a time after the death of a loved one.
People are expected to be in mourning for more than a few weeks.
Grief often leads to depression, and both take time to run their course, sometimes requiring medication and professional help, and that's okay.
But we don't seem to think so in America.
We shy away from talking to psychiatrists, or when we do, we keep it quiet.
We'll talk about the state of our colon or a migraine we can't shake, but we don't talk about seeing a counselor in public.
We wouldn't want anyone thinking we were crazy.
We live in a society that glorifies numbing our sorrows at the bottom of a bottle.
How many times do we get stressed out and say, "I just really need a drink?"
We're okay, for the most part, with promoting an unhealthy, binge-drinking means of coping with depression and grief, but shy away from healthy cures, such as seeking professional help.
There's something very wrong with that picture.
Visiting a psychologist or psychiatrist is better for you than downing a fifth of liquor.
Our age group is one of the most prone to commit suicide.
As college students we're under constant pressure to do well in our classes, graduate, find love and get a good job in a dead job market.
Many of us are living like bad stereotypes--broke and stocking our cabinets with Ramen noodles and cheap beer.
We're under a tremendous amount of stress from college.
So when tragedy strikes--when a loved one dies, when we fail a class, when we run out of money--where do we turn?
Why are we more likely to grieve and hurt in secret than seek out professional help?
We're in an extremely fortunate position at Auburn University, where we have free counseling services as long as we're students.
Doug Hankes, director of Student Counseling Services, said the number of student visits to the clinic is growing.
"It's my 16th year here, and every year there is an increase in students who use the clinic," Hankes said. "I think we had about 1,500 students visit last year."
While more students are beginning to take advantage of the services offered by the university, Hankes said there is still a need to combat the negative stigmas associated with things such as depression, grief and anxiety.
"[With a mental illness], it's not visible, you can't see something, so it feels less real," Hankes said. "If you break your leg, you can take an X-ray, put a cast on it, but with anxiety and depression people tend to assume it's a lack of willpower. You should just pull yourself up by your bootstraps and get better."
One way to begin fighting these notions, Hankes said, is to stop viewing these conditions as weaknesses.
"It's more a sign of strength and willpower to seek out resources," Hankes said.
Change won't come, though, if the conversation surrounding mental illnesses and grief doesn't change.
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, only 30 percent of people who are depressed seek help.
In Alabama, suicide is the second-leading cause of death of young people.
Maybe if the conversation changes, those numbers will change too.
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression, grief or another issue, you can reach the Student Counseling Services office is 334-844-5123, or you can visit them in person on the second floor of the Auburn University Medical Clinic on Lem Morrison Ave.
(06/20/14 4:00pm)
Cat's view:
Yes, we are still living in a weak economy. Finding a remedy to our economic woes is paramount, but this doesn't mean we should support every solution proposed.
Raising the minimum wage is a quick-fix solution Americans would be smart to avoid. Sure, it sounds nice, but the reality is anything but nice.
Obviously, the money has to come from somewhere. The government may make the law, but they aren't giving any money to the people who actually pay out: business owners.
It's the business owners who will have no choice, but to increase their selling prices to stay within the law. This includes price increases for food, clothing, gas and anything else you frequently buy.
Say goodbye to the Dollar Menu.
Economists David Neumark, of UC-Irvine, and William Wascher, of the Federal Reserve Board, recently released a collective study showing 85 percent of research points to a loss of jobs following an increase in minimum wage.
Since the majority of the retail workforce is comprised of minimum wage employees, the already difficult task of finding a job for unskilled workers will become much worse. When businesses are forced to pay people more, they naturally hire fewer people.
So if you happen to be one of the lucky few with a job, you'll be explaining to infuriated customers why they can no longer afford their lunches.
Let's say we do raise the minimum wage. Will the poor really benefit? Unfortunately, the answer is no. According to the Census Bureau, approximately 60 percent of people living in poverty are unemployed and would not benefit from a raise.
We should also pay attention to the 28 states that have increased the minimum wage in the four years prior to the most recent federal minimum wage increase. Economists from Cornell and American Universities found no associated reduction in poverty rates in these states.
Another study, published in the Journal of Human Resources, found a higher minimum wage can actually increase the proportion of families living at or near the poverty.
This is the result of business owners being forced to make the tough choice of cutting staff or closing shop.
The real issue is inflation.
If we continue to ignore the corporate price gouging that's already making our hard earned cash disappear faster than ever before, the minimum wage will be the last thing to worry about.
__________________________________________________________
Raye's view:
The minimum wage was established in America in 1938 when President Roosevelt signed into law the post-Depression era Fair Labor Standards Act, placing the minimum wage at 25 cents per hour and establishing a maximum 44-hour work week.
The value of the minimum wage rose steadily to adjust for inflation, according to raisetheminimumwage.com, until it reached its high point in 1968 at $1.60 per hour, when Congress began failing to adjust for inflation.
At its inception, the minimum wage was meant to be a living wage, or the amount of money an earner could feasibly live on and stay above the poverty line.
A minimum wage employee earning $7.25 per hour working 40 hours per week will only earn $15,080 per year.
The poverty line rests just above that at $15,130.
Living at or below the poverty line isn't earning a living wage -- it's the definition of poverty.
We like to think those working at minimum wage jobs are teenagers and college students, but that simply isn't the reality.
Many people working these jobs have husbands, wives and children they're supporting. Many of them work two jobs just to make ends meet.
What can't you pay for earning a $15,130 yearly wage?
A house.
A decent car.
College.
You may be able to have one of those things, but with the cost of gas, groceries, electricity, water -- with a $500 per month rent payment, you're already out $6,000 -- nearly half of your yearly earnings -- and few apartments are cheap.
By raising the minimum wage, we give people a chance.
A chance to get out of government housing.
A chance to rise above welfare.
Without it? We keep the poor poor.
We make the wealth divide even greater and the climb to the top even steeper.
We take away the chances of those who are already given so little.
The current minimum wage is creating a ceiling for those who already have little.
It forces men and women into working, sometimes upwards of 80 hours per week -- and for what? Survival.
The minimum wage is not a living wage.
By refusing to raise it, we condemn the 3.6 million people earning $7.25 or less to a life of near poverty, poverty or worse.
(06/09/14 8:00pm)
For most siblings, after they grow into mature adults, their petty childhood rivalries stay in the past.
On the other hand, the competition will always be there for me with my younger sister Hope.
One of our favorite games to compete against each other in is H.O.R.S.E. For those who have not played the game, it is a basketball variation that requires more shooting skills than anything.
I cannot recall ever losing a game to her until she came to visit me in Auburn last week and beat me. I didn't take it well.
If you're like me, you probably take sports too seriously at times, especially when it involves your siblings.
Everyone has a different ego when competing. I can't stand to lose at anything.
A few hours after the tough loss, I eventually accepted that my little sister has grown into quite the athlete and started to act my age instead of my shoe size.
It's easy to get frustrated when you are losing, but there is more a person can gain from competing than winning or losing.
Learning sportsmanship teaches people how to deal with moments of truth in your daily life, and it should be carried beyond the field or court.
Sportsmanship, whether you like it or not, is a connection to your character off the field.
The outcome of sports is often uncertain, like life can be. Sports teach us how to react to things that are out of our control.
Being a "good sport" is holding yourself to a higher standard and enjoying the sport for the sake of playing the game and friendly competition.
Some things we can do to have better sportsmanship are treat others with respect, encourage and congratulate your opponent when they do something good, not gloat when you win, not pout when you lose, avoid making up with excuses, and be able to take criticism without taking it personally.
Your attitude is a big part of what makes you a good or bad sport and shows how mature you are as a person.
Your competitive spirit is going to get the best of you sometimes, but how your emotional reaction is what defines you.
If you're a bad sport you could end up giving others a bad reputation.
Aaron Hernandez's immaturity left a mark on the New England Patriots franchise even after the former tight end's involvement with the team was over when he was arrested on a charge of double murder in 2013.
Hernandez got the lowest score possible for "social maturity" during a pre-draft assessment in 2010, and there were members of the franchise that knew about his immaturity beforehand.
I'm not saying that anyone could have kept Hernandez out of prison, but who knows what might have happened if his behavior was taken more seriously by the Patriots organization or teammates in the locker room.
Monitor yourself, on and off the field, with these things and they can be life lessons as well as good sportsmanship and will make you a better person in the end.
(06/09/14 4:00pm)
Claiming national football championships has recently been a hot topic for many Auburn students, alumni and fans.
Because the NCAA does not officially award a national title in major college football, polls and organizations unofficially picked title-winners until the start of the Bowl Championship Series in 1998.
In the days before national title games, several schools could claim the national title for a given season because there wasn't a winner-take-all matchup like we saw in the BCS system or will see in the new playoff system.
While some Auburn fans like to poke fun at Alabama's retroactive claims to several national championships, our rivals are not alone.
Before their inaugural season in the SEC two years ago, Texas A&M officially added two national titles to its record book. Ole Miss and Georgia Tech have done the same in recent years.
While Auburn and Alabama fans can argue over the merits of the rival school's title claims, they should agree on one thing: claiming national titles is all about boosting a program's reputation.
Even in today's world of modern college football recruiting, with the new lure of state-of-the-art facilities and quick routes to NFL careers, a program's history and tradition still mean a lot to its future.
That is why athletic director Jay Jacobs and other Auburn alumni are debating official claims to the 1913, 1983, 1993 and 2004 national titles.
We think Auburn should make their rightful claim to some of these disputed championships, but not all of them.
In 1993, Auburn had a magical, perfect season but was ignored by the pollsters and coaches. There was a good reason for that: the Tigers were on probation, keeping them from any postseason action, SEC title considerations or televised games.
And while the unbeaten 2004 Auburn Tigers had a significant claim to be involved in the national title picture, there was a national title game that season. Though USC later had to hand back the consensus 2004 title for recruiting violations, we don't think No. 3 Auburn can definitively say it has a better claim than Oklahoma, who would be "punished" for a game that shouldn't have happened.
(Our apologies to former Auburn head coach Tommy Tuberville.)
But two of these seasons, 1913 and 1983, should be recognized as national title seasons on the Plains.
"Iron" Mike Donahue's 1913 Tigers went 8-0 and did not give up a single point until the second-to-last game of their season.
The NCAA also recognizes the University of Chicago, who does not even play major college football anymore, and Harvard as champions in its record book. But Auburn had the strongest resume of anyone that season -- more than enough to officially claim a title.
Pat Dye's 1983 team, which featured eventual Heisman winner Bo Jackson, went 11-1 in what is statistically the fourth-toughest schedule in college football history. The Tigers bounced back from a second-week loss to No. 3 Texas and knocked off four top-10 opponents in their final five games of the season.
After a close Sugar Bowl win against Michigan, then-No. 3 Auburn watched No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 Texas lose their respective bowl games. Conventional poll logic would have made Auburn the No. 1 team at season's end, but the team that beat Nebraska, No. 5 Miami, jumped the Tigers in the AP and Coaches' polls.
Auburn and Miami finished with the same record, but Auburn had a much tougher schedule. Tigers beat Florida, the only team that beat Miami, and the Hurricanes' only top-10 win was against Nebraska.
As a member of that 1983 team, Jacobs knows how much Auburn deserved to be crowned the national champion that year.
Anyone who looks at a record book can see how the dominant 1913 team should be officially recognized as champions by Jacobs and the athletic department.
We know adding only two national titles will not immediately make us as historically prestigious as our bitter rivals in Tuscaloosa.
But when you look at the state of Gus Malzahn's current Auburn program, there is a great chance the Tigers will have more opportunities in the near future to close that championship gap.
(05/23/14 8:15pm)
The real world.
Not the television show on MTV, but a phrase used as an excuse to delay responsibility until after graduation.
This phrase should stop being used.
We're already living in the real world.
College campuses, especially Auburn, are their own small-town bubbles.
Auburn feels like a bubble because sometimes it feels like we are living in a place where it is easier to disregard responsibilies, such as paying bills becuase our parents take care of that for us.
Those of us who are fortunate enough to not have to worry about bills, tuition and other expenses sometimes fall into the habit of using the phrase, "Until I get into the real world, I won't have to worry about that."
It echoes throughout campus.
Many people who say this don't realize that making mistakes while living in the Auburn bubble still has consequences.
Failing classes will reflect poorly on your GPA, which could lead to trouble finding a job after graduation.
Drinking and driving home one night, even if you live one minute away from the bars, could result in a life changing prison sentence.
The decisions we make now will affect us the rest of our lives.
Using that phrase as an excuse to not build your resume or learn how to pay bills lacks common sense.
However, we are not condemning those who haven't had to pay bills yet or like to go downtown on the weekends.
That's their prerogative, but using the excuse you're in college and not the real world yet to explain not spending time wisely is irresponsible.
Using this sentence is a form of procrastination.
We've all procrastinated, but when it comes to our future, there's no time to slack off.
Everything we do can lead you to bigger and better opportunites if you make the effort.
People also use this phrase as a safety net.
You can't put pressure on your parents to entirely support you through graduation.
We need to have some initative to be self-sustaining as much as you can, so you will be prepared to live on your own after school is over.
We've all muttered some form of the sentence, "I don't have to deal with it until I'm in the real world."
The idea that some of you won't have to deal with certain things until after graduation is correct, but claiming the world we're living in now is not the real world is wrong.
This excuse is holding us back.
If we stop using this phrase, it can make us more aware of the world around us.
We're not kids anymore.
We're adults.
Adults manage their time and are accountable.
Life has already started.
(05/24/14 7:00pm)
Music festival season is upon us. Maybe you just got back from Hangout Festival in Gulf Shores. Maybe you're gearing up to head to Bonnaroo in Tennessee in June or Lollapalooza this August in Chicago. If that's the case, I envy you.
If you're anything like me, you don't have the funds to spend upwards of $300 on tickets, travel and a place to stay. Not to mention food and souvenirs, because, let's be real, no matter how many times you say you won't buy a t-shirt, you're going to buy a t-shirt.
Realistically, any one of these music fests is probably going to run you at least $500.
The cheapest might be the Hangout Festival for Auburn students because of the location, but even after you spend $229 on tickets, roughly $40 on the gas to get down to Gulf Shores and a minimum of two nights in a hotel -- maybe about $125 a night, if you're lucky -- you're already out nearly $400, and you haven't even bought food.
Don't pretend you won't buy those $6 beers either, because you totally will.
So what's a poor college kid without a "real" job or parental paycheck to do?
Nothing, really, unless you're willing to go broke and eat Ramen noodles for months in advance.
Or you could do a bit of research and take advantage of some of the more localized festivals that won't break the bank.
The weekend of May 9-11, I went to Atlanta for the second annual Shaky Knees Music Festival. Tickets cost me a grand total of $160.
It's close enough that you can stay in Auburn and make the drive.
My friend and I got lucky at the last minute and found a friend who let us crash at his place for free. Before that, we'd found a cheap hotel ten minutes from the venue that was going to cost us, when split, $90 total for two nights.
We spent $30 on parking for the weekend and each bought a $25 t-shirt.
Instead of eating at the festival, we bought most of our food on the cheap at a nearby Kroger.
My rough total for the whole weekend, give or take a few dollars and cents for rounding, was $275.
It's still steep, but it's not $500.
It's possible to get your festival fix for even cheaper, though. Auburn and Opelika host an impressive number of local festivals all summer long.
This past weekend, the Auburn Arts Association put on their annual Jazz and Bluegrass festival, complete with multiple artists from around the state, vendors and food stands. Tickets were $20.
Every Thursday this month, Town Creek Park hosts a free concert from 6-7:30 p.m.
If the single-day festivals aren't enough of a fix for you, May 28-June 1, University Station RV Resort in Auburn holds Bluegrass on the Plains, a 5-day, $105-dollar festival just a six-minute journey from the University down Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
Sure, these local fests might not feature Modest Mouse and Childish Gambino, but they're well worth the prices.
They're great ways to get some sun, a great place to hang out and a wonderful way to support local and rising artists.
Who knows? Maybe the banjo player you see at an Auburn festival will make it big and headline something major next year, and by supporting them here, you'll have helped them get there.
(05/13/14 10:16pm)
If you have any guidebook or how-to for freshman year, throw it away right now.
In the space of nine months, I fell in love with Chacos, learned a new language (Southern English, a different breed than its Midwestern cousin), went to a bar for the first time, made friends and lost them, had my heart broken and learned what it really felt like to be homesick.
I wasn't prepared for any of it, but as someone who used to hate surprises, I'm glad.
There are people who will tell you what friends to make or where to sit at football games--or, more accurately, stand. They will say you should take geology because it's easy or that you shouldn't try out for this club and that one because you don't want to overload yourself.
Don't pay attention to any of it.
The beauty of college is the chance to start over, to make your own mistakes and learn from them. What's right for me or your Camp War Eagle counselor isn't necessarily what's right for you, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Don't let football predictions or what looks like a tough course load keep you from enjoying every game and acing every test. Have confidence in yourself and faith in your team, and if you--or they--stumble and fall on the way, know getting back up will make you that much stronger.
I'm supposed to use this space to tell you what to expect in the fall, but to me, that feels like cheating. I won't talk about sporting events or classes or the best place to study (hint: it's not always the library), but I will leave you with a few words of advice.
Find friends who genuinely care about you, even when you're not at your best. Don't trust the people who don't. Sign up for a thousand different clubs, and if you're overwhelmed, weed out the ones that don't make you happy. Expect teachers who never learn your name, but expect some who do. Expect to pull an all-nighter and hate yourself for it the morning after, but give yourself a break, because you'll never be the only one.
Push yourself out of your comfort zone. Sign up for organic gardening if it sounds cool, even though you've never even planted a flower. Put yourself out there - everyone else wants to make friends just as badly as you do. Have fun. Don't take yourself seriously. If you lived life without making mistakes, you'd never have stories to tell.
It took me months to get over the homesickness, and losing friends is never fun. But the difficult parts of freshman year only made the great times that much better. My Indiana friends will always mock me for saying "y'all," and they'll never understand my Chacos, but my feet feel great and catching onto Southern lingo only makes me feel that much more at home.
You'll get thrown a lot of curveballs over the next few months, but the best advice I have is to embrace all of them. College won't meet all your expectations, but with luck, it'll exceed them.
(04/25/14 4:00pm)
People often question the validity of modern artwork and wonder what exactly makes a piece of art have value and a place in the art world.
This is particularly true for minimalistic pieces, like the work of Ellsworth Kelly or, for abstract pieces, Jackson Pollock.
I am neither an art historian or an artist, but merely someone who has an appreciation for the history, ideas, practices and people behind art. I'd like to present a few ideas to those who wonder why some art is considered art.
Consider Fauvism, a style of art that emerged in the early twentieth century characterized by strong color palettes and painterly strokes. (Think of Henri Matisse.)
Critics wrote the artists off as "fauves," which translates from French into "wild beasts." If you can manage to transport yourself back to that time, from 1904-1908, this criticism makes sense. Patrons of the art were used to looking at the more moderate impressionistic works of Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, so the bright coloring of Fauvist work was jarring.
This sort of criticism happens all the time in everyday life. People are naturally averse to change and radical ideas.
To cite an example from history, Europeans initially mocked Orville and Wilbur Wright for their innovations in flight. Streaming online video was at first ignored by many, but now Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Prime Instant Video have closed down traditional video rental stores, such as Blockbuster.
New ideas and techniques are the cornerstone of the art world, pushing it forward to create something that is entirely new, because who wants to look at the same thing over and over again?
Perhaps it might be helpful to think of art not in just terms of aesthetics, but in terms of emotion as well.
I like to apply Ernest Hemingway's iceberg theory with art: what you see at the surface is only a small part of what lies underneath. The tip out of the water is what you see - the painting on the wall, the sculpture in the garden - but what lies beneath the water is much more.
It consists of the story behind the work, the life of the artist, the world at the time, the emotions of the viewer.
Art isn't something you just look at. It's like a novel in that you enter a world that is altogether unique; a place with history, culture and characters.
Don't just look at the tip of the iceberg. Art, in any form, is the most beautiful and complicated combination of aesthetics, history, politics, skill and culture.
(04/24/14 8:45pm)
Cliches are cliches for a reason. They're overused because they're true. So when I incorporate the cliche "blood, sweat and tears" to describe the effort we put into producing The Auburn Plainsman this year, I incorporate it because it's nothing short of the truth.
We've sacrificed regular sleeping hours, our social lives and, many times, our grades to create the best product we could. But, this isn't about us. It's about you, our readers.
All of the work we've done (and will continue to do) is done to serve the Auburn community. Take Tuesday, April 15, for example. We didn't care about sleeping, getting our school work done or putting the print product of The Plainsman together when news broke about a threat to our campus.
We cared about providing our readers with as much information as we could get our hands on. That night, I knew we would work until there was nothing left to report, and that our readers would follow us through that process.
So, while this year's staff deserves my overwhelming gratitude for putting their all into The Plainsman, you deserve my deepest thanks for supporting our work.
Thank you for reading what we write. Thank you for caring enough to stay informed. And thank you for letting us know when you think we could be doing a better job.
I've learned more from serving one year as editor than I have in the first three years of my college career combined, and your feedback has been a vital part of that.
I hope our work here has helped you learn something you didn't know either.
My time at The Plainsman is coming to an end, but The Plainsman itself is not. This newspaper is powered by the strength and talent of Auburn students who take their responsibility as Plainsman staffers seriously. Part of our duty is to challenge Auburn in hopes of bettering it.
I encourage all of you to join us in that challenge. Challenge yourselves, challenge each other and challenge us to perform at a level of excellency.
If nothing else, challenge yourself to stay informed about what's going on at Auburn University through The Plainsman.
It's only through this constant challenging that we'll truly foster a spirit that is not afraid.
The saying goes to leave a place better than how you found it. I'm not sure if I've succeeded in this at The Plainsman, but I've sure enjoyed the hell out of trying.
(04/24/14 3:45pm)
Jordan's View:
We have seen the writing on the wall, and it's a bomb threat.
A bomb threat was once called into my middle school. The school was on an army base in Germany, so the threat was taken seriously by the military. We were removed from our classrooms and escorted to the nearby movie theater to take shelter.
The military found out who the caller was. It was a student trying to get out of class. The military took action, and his father was heavily demoted and their family was sent back to the United States.
What the military did might be construed as harsh. However, we do live in a post-9/11 society.
Nowadays, everyone seems to fear bombs exploding in public places and airplanes falling out of the sky caused by terrorizing, foreign strangers.
However, most of these claims are not realistic, in my opinion..
Nevertheless, citizens are being taught to fear these strangers as rumors of terror spread.
So when Auburn University receives a message from an anonymous source threatening the lives thousands of students, the University will have to take it seriously. Even if those in power don't believe it is substantiated, they know they would be pressured from the fears and complaints of those they serve to take action.
The University should continue to do whatever necessary to ensure the students, their families and faculty feel safe. This would involve closing the school to quell fears during a bomb threat. Students should not sit in Haley Center and pretend nothing is happening when they know there is threat of an attack.
Furthermore, the University must make timely responses to these threats.
Acknowledging their existence is the only way to prevent the spread of rumors and hysteria among the student body. This is especially necessary when these threats are made public on social media. But closing the University does not stop the threats.
The threats will end with increased enforcement for fear of being caught.
Hopefully, the $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the felon will be as far as enforcement will need to go.
____________________________________________________
Becky's View:
Auburn University has opened Pandora's box.
When I was in my junior year of high school, we had a bomb threat almost every week for a good month.
The student who made those threats was sending them in as a joke to get out of class.
The threats eventually stopped when the student turned himself in.
Although bomb threats are a serious matter and should not be taken lightly, shutting down the University for a day only made matters worse.
The University gave into fear, which is what the person who wrote the threat on the wall probably wanted.
Now that the University has reacted this way, the perpetrator, or any other student, may think writing a threat on a bathroom wall is the way to get out of a test.
The Auburn Police Division had been notified about the first threat weeks before Wednesday, April 16.
Because they were aware of the threat, they made sure to have extra police and security on campus to monitor any suspicious activity until the person who wrote the threat was caught.
Police Chief Paul Register said the police department did not think the threat was serious enough to shutdown campus for the day.
Although I don't know all the protocol about handling a threat to campus, I know giving in to the threat was not the right way to go about it.
This was not necessarily a better safe than sorry situation.
With the most recent bomb threat found in another Haley Center bathroom, it only furthers my point that these threats may continue whenever someone wants class to be cancelled.
The University did handle the Tuesday, April 22, bomb threat well because they only shutdown Haley for a few hours while they searched the building.
If the University continues to handle threats like that, then students have a better chance of finishing finals without AU Alert taking over their phones.
(04/20/14 12:00pm)
I've lived in Germany for three years.
I tell people that, and they begin firing typical questions at me. For the most part, the first question asked is if I speak German.
I learned enough German to say I don't speak German.
The next question, if it isn't the first question, is, "What was it like?" This varies from person to person. They ask me about castles and forts. Some ask me about the food. If they're brave, they'll ask me about WWII history museums or Nazi concentration camps.
All the questions boil down to things a tourist would ask, what a tourist would experience, what a tourist would do.
No one asks about everyday life. No one has ever approached me with questions that are framed outside the context of a few months. No one asks about buying groceries or gas. No one asks me about what it was like for me, as a child, to play outside there. No one asks about interacting with locals beyond ordering food.
No one asks about walking down the street every morning in a country that doesn't speak English. Sure, many of them know English, but for the most part, it was easier to agree not to communicate beyond formal greetings.
Living in Germany was a pleasant experience. In hindsight, it was the best three years of my life thus far.
However, I began to see changes in the local children my age after a year of living there. I normally saw them playing with one another, just like I would with my friends, but they would grow silent when I walked past them to get to my bus stop in the morning.
Then one day, they spoke to me. "Hey, come here," the fat one said in broken English. "Psst!" the others hissed. I stopped walking and looked at them. I thought about going over there. I thought about trying to communicate with them, perhaps leading to some sort of beautiful friendship where we could play games without needing words.
But then the fat one spit in my direction.
I walked away.
When I lived in Germany, I did it wrong. I spent three years in a foreign land and failed at obtaining a real cultural experience. I saw the castles and ate the food, but I did not learn the language and communicate with the locals as a guest in their homeland. I didn't take the time to get to know them and communicate with them as people, not as Germans.
We as Americans are privileged. We like to look abroad and experience the culture of foreign lands, but little time do we take to interact with the people who make up that culture.
We act as if going to a big church or some castle Hitler spent his weekends at is enough to make us cultured; thinking they have experienced all that a foreign land has to offer. It's not. Those are history lessons given out by tour guides. History is an important element that defines culture, but people misinterpret that as THE culture.
The best way to experience a culture is to share in it with the people who make up that culture. Not drinking buddies, not a tour guide, not a study abroad group. But we think it is, and we wonder why the rest of the rest of world doesn't like us when we turn their world into a vacation hotspot.
(04/18/14 4:00pm)
As a journalist, I have learned that I will be spending a lot of my time throughout my career doing things that most people would feel too awkward or pushy doing. To get the news, and to keep the public informed, journalists may have to put themselves in uncomfortable situations to get to the bottom of a story, and to ensure that the truth is the only thing printed.
Interviewing someone after they have had a death in the family may seem insensitive, and asking a politician about their latest marriage scandal may produce awkward silences or result in an angry politician, but that's part of the job. Just like it's not uncommon for a journalist to have to track down a source, or call and email them to the point of being obnoxious if they are an important part of the story.
Without journalists, the public would either have to stay uninformed or rely on whatever information they could get from the Internet, which may or may not be true.
So to me it's frustrating when I hear people say that we are in the business of "ruining people's lives," or that we are twisting the truth to get a better story.
Not only does twisting the truth harm whomever the article is about, but it also harms the journalist's credibility, which is arguably the most important credential that a journalist can have, and one that we don't want to lose.
Sometimes, printing the truth isn't enough, and sources still feel that they have been poorly represented or taken advantage of.
I wrote an article last week on Katherine Webb and AJ McCarron having a reality show for their upcoming wedding. I interviewed three members of the Webb family. They were all aware that I was a reporter, and that I intended to publish my article through The Auburn Plainsman.
Once the article came out they had a change of heart and asked if we could take the article down, because they realized that they had made a mistake in discussing the reality show with a reporter so soon.
This put me in a tough situation because I had no intention of causing any problems with the Webb family by writing the article, but I also didn't feel like it should be taken down just because they changed their minds.
Journalism is not the business of pleasing everyone. It is the business of informing the public, staying honest, having full disclosure with your sources, and getting the news out as fast as possible.
I can't control what happens after one of my stories is published. All that I can do is make sure that my facts are correct, that my quotes are accurate, and that the message is clear.
Sometimes an article gets a different reaction from the public than a source thought it would. This is not a valid reason for the source to blame the journalist, or to feign ignorance and say that they didn't realize that the article would be published.
Before I even begin an interview, I always make sure my source knows who I am, who I work for, when the article is set to be published, and what exactly it is about. I do this to prevent confusion and to ensure that a source isn't caught off guard when they read the article.
There are biased and corrupt journalists in the field, just like there are corrupt workers in any field, but there are also journalists who have a passion for reporting, investigating, and informing the public in the most honorable way possible.
(04/17/14 6:45pm)
After The Wall Street Journal dropped its investigative opinion piece about Auburn four months ago, we began receiving messages from our readers. Both emails and written letters came to our inboxes and desks, asking if we could confirm what WSJ wrote was true.
The story that ran on our front page is not about proving who is innocent and who is guilty. The purpose of this editorial is to take a look at the University's justice system and report what we found.
Did anything illegal happen within the justice system at Auburn University? No. In fact, the University seems to be exhausting itself in an attempt to meet all of the Title IX regulations set before it.
Did anything unethical happen? We don't think Auburn has purposefully wronged students - both those going before the student discipline committee and those serving on it. We do, however, think that in an effort to keep the image of the University clean, they have negotiated the rights to those accused of crimes and alleged victims that go through this system.
Our first request from the University is to abolish the practice of holding these hearings behind closed doors. We ask that one member of the student press be allowed access to report on student discipline hearings that would be considered a felony if tried in court. This provision would provide transparency among University administration, as well as hold committee members presiding over a case accountable.
If allowed to report on these hearings, we would adhere to the journalistic industry standard of keeping the names of alleged victims private.
We know that the allowance of a reporter into a student disciplinary hearing is not unheard of, as both the University of Alabama and the University of North Carolina make provisions for so within their respective codes of conduct.
This would not be a violation of the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (a Federal law that protects students' privacy and educational records) as this act does not protect the identities of students found liable for a violent crime.
Our second request is for an overhaul of how students and faculty members who serve on the Student Discipline Committee are trained. We ask that all members have thorough understanding of legal proceedings before being allowed to hear a Student Discipline Case.
Another possible solution would be have an administrative law judge, who is a legally trained hearing officer for felony like charges, serve as the committee chair for any forthcoming infractions that would be considered a felony case in a court of law.
Lastly, we ask the University to do everything in its power to allow legal advisers to represent their clients in Student Discipline Hearings that are judging felony level infractions. We were baffled at the blatant lack of efficiency and fairness that ensues when defendants and plaintiffs are left to call and cross examine their own witnesses, present their own evidence and give their own opening and closing statements.
Even if this requires Alabama senators to pass a law protecting the right to counsel in Student Discipline settings, which has recently been the case in North Carolina, we think it is of the utmost importance that these steps be taken.
Overall, our requests are simple. All we ask is the University protect two of our most basic rights: the right to a fair trial and our freedom of speech.
(04/16/14 4:57pm)
As I was walking around campus the other day I couldn't help but notice the amount of faces glued to their cell phones.
I could literally watch people I know walk by me without even looking up to notice me.
I will admit that I fall into this cell phone, crazed category, as well.
I too have walked into a few walls from time to time, because I have been utterly attached to looking at the screen of my phone.
It got me thinking about all the electronics that seem to consume our worlds.
iPhones, iPads, Macbooks, along with their social apps and websites, allow us to connect with one another without even having to see each other.
I feel as though these new technological advances have greatly distorted the meaning of verbal communication.
Although, don't get me wrong, these new innovations have their positives too.
I don't know how I would remain in contact with some of the people I've met over the years if it wasn't for Facebook, or how I would be able entertain myself through a boring class without texting a friend.
The truth is, we are too obsessed about missing out.
It seems every year Apple comes out with a new iPhone product that offers more perks and every year people are foaming at the mouth to get a hold of them.
Not only has the iPhone become today's main form of communicating but it has also developed into a way of living.
Cell phones can tell a lot about one's personality and motivations.
Going through one's cell phone would be like reading their journal.
Their texts, phone calls and recent Internet searches could reveal so much about what kind of social crowd they run with and the type of things they do.
People can create identities for themselves, the way they want others to perceive them, through apps such as Twitter, Instagram, Yik Yak, Tinder and even Snapchat.
They allow us to premeditate any conversation we have with someone, which can be a good thing at times, but isn't reality.
With all that said, I do see why I people ignore face-to-face contact when one could communicate to someone exactly how they want to, by means of a single cell phone.
Not to mention, it can be more convenient.
However, I believe there is something more meaningful about a conversation in person.
For me personally, I feel more in tune to what the other person is saying and feeling when I am talking to them from across a table.
Their body language, touch and non-verbal cues can tell me so much more about where the conversation is heading than an emoji in a text can.
I think there is something to be said about two people sharing words with one another in person.
It shows an effort to take the time to meet with them and is a sign of respect for that person.